Sunday, April 20, 2008

Is it easy being green?

As I'm sure you have noticed, "green" fever has swept the nation. And while I'm a big fan of the enviornment (the ice caps! They're melting! Save the baby polar bears!) I am a little skeptical of the line between companies genuine concern, and their swift motions to capatilize on the public's fear du jour. I've got a lot of thoughts on this, that I can hopefully articulate at some point, but for now let's focus on a teeny-tiny piece of the puzzle that is (surprise!) fashion related.

Recently a new item came out that people have been dubbing "the new 'it' bag" (for those of you how don't usually concern yourself with that sort of thing: "it" refers to anything that is super hot, typically among celebrities, and then by default, the sheep-like masses). It's super cute, fits in with the eco-trend, costs $15, and impossible to obtain (thus securing "it" bag status).

Stopping global warming is so hot right now.

Now, making political statements via my cliché consumer purchases isn't exactly my thing ('Hot for Hillary" t shirts anyone?) but I have been searching for canvas grocery bags for a while. I haven't settled on anything yet though, as even the most basic items I've found are expensive (well, compared to the free -if earth killing-options from the store). And even if I found an affordable option, it seems a little silly to support the production of new products (cotton- even organic!- is apparently the newest eco-devil), not to mention the fuel required to ship them to me. So my little do-gooder act started to seemto less than helpful after all.

Thankfully, Martha comes to the rescue (again...), with "greenteebags"- shopping bags made out of old t-shirts.



I heart sustainability


Goodness knows Dustin and I have some extra t-shirts lying around, so maybe I will give this a try. (In true American *cough*lazy*cough* style, bags are available for purchase, but instructions to make your own are here.) The patrons at the neighborhood Giant Eagle are sure to be impressed by my eco-savvy/fashionista ways. Now that's hot

Found via: aesthetic outburst

3 comments :

  1. have you checked out delight.com? I got Matt the "green as can be" gift set for christmas, and I love me some envirosax. although, you're right, they're probably not too environmentally friendly to make or ship. I'd just be worried about the t-shirt bag holding up under pressure.

    ReplyDelete
  2. we use our giant tarp-like ikea bags for our grocery sacks. Ikea charges for plastic bags now, so we bought them for 59 cents a while ago and they actually fit almost an entire cart load. We also use the plastic bags that our newspaper comes in for our produce instead of the ones the stores provide. And most stores give you a slight discount for bringing your own bags. happy earth day tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We use the Ikea bags as well (well we're starting to use them!) b/c they are so big. But yeah - it is quite trendy to be "green" these days. It's a good trend but it seems like so much is about declaring that you're green, rather than just quietly doing your part.

    ReplyDelete